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My question is simple: How is one expected to survive off benefits when they do not pay the full amount of the expenditure they're meant to cover?

Our rent is £750 PCM, our housing benefit is £607.64 as per the local government maximum. We are entitled to and need the three bedrooms in our house, 1 adult son who works a low paid job and gives us a bit of housekeeping, one teenaged son in full time education.
We have a dog and two cats so moving is made difficult as few landlords will accept pets, plus if you don't have any money how do you pay for moving costs, deposit etc etc?

Our council tax is £1419.46 P/A, of which £1102.57 is covered by Council Tax Support. This leaves approx £168.77 PCM shortfall between rent and council tax.

We receive PIP as my wife is disabled, Standard Daily Living and Enhanced Mobility which is used for her Motability car. I receive Carer's Allowance and Income Support.

We moved here just over four years ago, I was working full time until Dec 2015 but now I am her full time carer.

I'm looking into a Discretionary Housing Payment but my main question is, how are we meant to make ends meet? I asked this question during a call about benefits to the powers that be, and they just said no-one gets the full amount.

I can't help in terms of other benefits you could claim. All I can recommend is posting a full list of your income and outgoings (called a statement of affairs or SOA) on the the Debt Free Wannabe board. They're pretty good at identifying where savings could potentially be made.

Spot on there. Either that or tell him you're downsizing the house and he will have to find somewhere else to live. You should be looking at £300/400 a month from him, as that is the minimum he would have to pay for a room in a house share.

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Do you actually have to care for your wife full time. Im sure you can earn up to a certain amounr before it affects benefits

Correct on both counts - son pays £30 a week, and to be fair often buys his own food/stays at his girlfriend's so doesn't cost much (mind you I was paying £120 a month out of £100 a week in 1994). I could do some part time work.

However my main question is more how are we expected to make ends meet if neither of the above was feasible? It just seems odd that the benefits are not the same as the outgoings that we must pay. More questioning the system than my own circumstances.

Correct on both counts - son pays £30 a week, and to be fair often buys his own food/stays at his girlfriend's so doesn't cost much (mind you I was paying £120 a month out of £100 a week in 1994). I could do some part time work.

However my main question is more how are we expected to make ends meet if neither of the above was feasible? It just seems odd that the benefits are not the same as the outgoings that we must pay. More questioning the system than my own circumstances.

Why is it not feasible to make ends meet, are you paying off debts? If you added up your income it would be more than many working households get. As suggested above, complete a statement of affairs and look at where you can make cutbacks.

The limits on HB etc are there in part to stop landlords constantly increasing rent in the knowledge that it will be paid by the LA. The OP does need to look at every aspect of income and expenditure, with particular emphasis on the rent paid by the son and the possibility of part time work. There is a small disregard on earnings so there isn't a huge amount of wiggle room in that area.

However my main question is more how are we expected to make ends meet if neither of the above was feasible? It just seems odd that the benefits are not the same as the outgoings that we must pay. More questioning the system than my own circumstances.

Benefits are one size fits all, they can't account for people's individual circumstances. For example, you have three pets and an adult son living with you who the benefits aren't designed to support. They will increase your food bill and affect the size and type of property you need live in. Equally, someone else may have large debt repayments, a hobby that uses a lot of electricity, etc. These are all things that benefits aren't designed to support.

Where do you draw the line in terms of people's extra costs? Think of it this way: if someone had posted here saying they had three adult children who each needed their own bedroom and had three horses, would you question why their benefits didn't cover their outgoings?

Unfortunately, it's a case of trying to cut your cloth accordingly (which is why I suggested doing a SOA on the Debt Free Wannabe board).

Correct on both counts - son pays £30 a week, and to be fair often buys his own food/stays at his girlfriend's so doesn't cost much (mind you I was paying £120 a month out of £100 a week in 1994). I could do some part time work.

However my main question is more how are we expected to make ends meet if neither of the above was feasible? It just seems odd that the benefits are not the same as the outgoings that we must pay. More questioning the system than my own circumstances.

It is not how much he costs you in terms of food. He is costing you the rent on a 3 bed house which has to be more than £30 per week. Either he starts to pay you a realistic share of the rent or he finds his own place allowing you to downsize.

It is not how much he costs you in terms of food. He is costing you the rent on a 3 bed house which has to be more than £30 per week. Either he starts to pay you a realistic share of the rent or he finds his own place allowing you to downsize.

Actually he's not costing them a penny in rent. They'll get the full LHA for a three bed property, there's no non dependent deduction because they're in receipt of PIP.

The costs of the adult child would be pretty low - food, a small amount for additional utilities (he's not going to use any more heating or lighting than already used). Given that without him there they would only be entitled to the two bedroom rate, then even in a two bed property it's quite possible they'd be worse off without him there.

(That's not to say that he shouldn't pay more, but a realistic share of the rent and council tax would be around £55 a month.)

Actually he's not costing them a penny in rent. They'll get the full LHA for a three bed property, there's no non dependent deduction because they're in receipt of PIP.

The costs of the adult child would be pretty low - food, a small amount for additional utilities (he's not going to use any more heating or lighting than already used). Given that without him there they would only be entitled to the two bedroom rate, then even in a two bed property it's quite possible they'd be worse off without him there.

(That's not to say that he shouldn't pay more, but a realistic share of the rent and council tax would be around £55 a month.)

Your pets must cost quite a bit each month ? If you could take a part time job, ask your son to look for a better paid job and look to rehome the dog and 2 cats it might help. I know people are attached to their pets but if you can't afford them then it's silly to struggle on. It might also help you find cheaper accomodation as you've mentioned it's hard to find somewhere when you have pets.

How old is the teenager ? My teenager got a job as soon as she got her NI number, i don't take any money from her but it helps that she doesn't have to ask me for money now if she wants anything.

You will be losing housing benefit because you have an adult non dependent in the property, your working son, and a fixed deduction based on his earnings is made from both your housing benefit and council tax support.

I would imagine that his £30 housekeeping doesn't cover that shortfall and you need to have a conversation with him about the cost to you of him living at home with you. Mind you if he leaves you will then be deemed to be unde occupying your home and your housing benefit will be reduced by 14%, so you won't be a great deal better off.

Correcting myself, there no NDD due to the PIP award. Is your rent over the LHA for your area?

You will be losing housing benefit because you have an adult non dependent in the property, your working son, and a fixed deduction based on his earnings is made from both your housing benefit and council tax support.

I would imagine that his £30 housekeeping doesn't cover that shortfall and you need to have a conversation with him about the cost to you of him living at home with you. Mind you if he leaves you will then be deemed to be unde occupying your home and your housing benefit will be reduced by 14%, so you won't be a great deal better off.

Correcting myself, there no NDD due to the PIP award. Is your rent over the LHA for your area?

My question is simple: How is one expected to survive off benefits when they do not pay the full amount of the expenditure they're meant to cover?
Our rent is £750 PCM, our housing benefit is £607.64 as per the local government maximum.

You'd be surprised at how often I see a client who thinks they get one thing, and call it that, but in fact get something different. When giving advice, as I do for a living, I find it best to gain absolute clarity before proceeding.

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